Robert Downey Jokes He Gave Up Iron Man Because Money Stopped Coming In

Robert Downey Jr. not only kickstarted his career again with Iron Man (2008), he also helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hollywood’s largest franchise. Now that he’s made a handful of appearances throughout the movies, his time in the MCU has come to an end, largely thanks in part to the gut-wrenching events of Avengers: Endgame. Either way, the actor is now on to other things in his career, like hitting the ground running with Team Downey, a production studio he and his wife Susan run.

Team Downey’s next project is Dolittle, a reimagining of the classic character starring Downey in the titular role. Because of the movie’s imminent release, the actor is busy doing the associated press tour and that’s where he recently joked about not caring his time as Iron Man is over — after all, the checks have stopped coming in.

When asked by Yahoo! Entertainment’s Kevin Polowy on how hard it was to say goodbye to Tony Stark, the character he’s played for over ten years, Downey brushed it off with ease. “The contract was up, no problem,” the actor joked. “When the wires stopped coming through, I was more than ready to let go.”

Earlier on in the press tour, the actor told Parade he was likely done with the character as Marvel Studios began focusing on other franchises. “The war for me is over,” Downey revealed. “I personally have alighted to greener pastures.”

There’s been rumors Stark will appear in Black Widow, via unused footage from Captain America: Civil War. After that, Downey’s acting slate appears rather clean; at one point he was attached to star in All-Star Weekend, though the movie has yet to secure distribution despite being filmed over two years ago.

Downey can be seen in Avengers: Endgame, now streaming on Disney+. He’s also in Dolittle, out this Friday, January 17th.

Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic